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Susannah Stern, PhD

Professor, Communication Studies

Susannah Stern PhD, joined the department of Communication Studies in 2004, after teaching at Boston College for four years. Stern offers courses that investigate the role of media in contemporary life, particularly as they involve children, adolescents, and women, as well as courses on research methods. Stern's research focuses on electronic media and youth culture, and she has conducted extensive research on the Internet as a site for cultural consumption and self-expression.

Education

Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Mass CommunicationM.A., University of Washington, CommunicationB.S., Northwestern University, Communication Studies

Scholarly and Creative Work

Stern’s scholarly research encompasses a range of work investigating how children and teens use and make sense of media, how young people are targeted as media consumers, and how they use and are affected by mass media. Stern employs both quantitative and qualitative methods in her research. Her most recent work focuses on how and why young people construct media messages to meet their own needs and fantasies, as well as how young people make sense of and are affected by commercial messages online. Stern's work has appeared in a variety of peer-reviewed journals and edited collections, and she is regularly interviewed by the popular press about young people’s Internet use.

Teaching Interests

Stern’s teaching interests include media culture and effects, children and adolescents, and research methods. She teaches a variety of media-related courses, including Introduction to Media Studies, Media Processes and Effects, Children and Media, Teens and Pop Culture, and methods classes including Interpretive Research Methods and Communication Investigations. Stern has also taught preceptorial courses, honors courses, and a team-taught honors course entitled “Constructing Motherhood.”